8.2.2. Antibiotics

Antibiotics produced by microbes are regarded as one of the most significant discoveries of the twentieth century and have greatly contributed towards the welfare of the human society. Anti is a Greek word that means ‘against’, and bio means ‘life’, together they mean ‘against life’ (in the context of disease causing organisms); whereas with reference to human beings, they are ‘pro life’ and not against.

Antibiotics are powerful substances made by certain microbes to either kill harmful bacteria or inhibit their growth. The prefix 'anti-' means 'against', while 'bio-' is related to life. Hence, antibiotics work by fighting against harmful bacteria, helping to keep us healthy. They are crucial in medicine and have saved countless lives since their discovery.

Think of antibiotics as superhero defenders of the body. Just like how a superhero protects the city from villains (harmful bacteria), antibiotics help protect our bodies by battling against diseases that these bacteria can cause.

You are familiar with the commonly used antibiotic Penicillin. Do you know that Penicillin was the first antibiotic to be discovered, and it was a chance discovery? Alexander Fleming while working on Staphylococci bacteria, once observed a mould growing in one of his unwashed culture plates around which Staphylococci could not grow. He found out that it was due to a chemical produced by the mould and he named it Penicillin after the mould Penicillium notatum. However, its full potential as an effective antibiotic was established much later by Ernest Chain and Howard Florey. This antibiotic was extensively used to treat American soldiers wounded in World War II. Fleming, Chain and Florey were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1945, for this discovery.

Penicillin was the first antibiotic discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. He noticed that a mould (Penicillium notatum) inhibited the growth of bacteria on a culture plate. This led to the understanding of how certain substances produced by microbes could be used to fight bacterial infections. Later work by Ernest Chain and Howard Florey confirmed its effectiveness, especially during World War II, where it became a life-saving treatment for soldiers.

Imagine a scientist in a messy lab accidentally making a breakthrough discovery while cleaning up! This was similar to Fleming's experience when he stumbled upon Penicillin, highlighting how sometimes important discoveries come from unexpected observations.

After Penicillin, other antibiotics were also purified from other microbes. Can you name some other antibiotics and find out their sources? Antibiotics have greatly improved our capacity to treat deadly diseases such as plague, whooping cough, diphtheria, and leprosy, which used to kill millions all over the globe. Today, we cannot imagine a world without antibiotics.

Following the discovery of Penicillin, scientists identified and developed many other antibiotics from various microbes such as Streptomyces and Bacillus species. These antibiotics have been crucial in treating severe diseases that once posed significant threats to human health. Thanks to antibiotics, we can now manage infections that would have previously been fatal.

Think about a toolbox; just like one tool isn't always enough to fix every problem, different antibiotics can target specific types of bacteria, making them essential in our fight against infections. Antibiotics serve as the specialized tools in our medical arsenal, each suited for a particular challenge.

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